What Are the Essential Parts of a College Essay?

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As a college student, you will write academic papers during your time in school, so you must learn to handle the unique demands of college-level essay writing. College professors look for certain essential parts in every essay. If you understand those components, you can follow your professors’ assignments and avoid feeling lost or uncomfortable when you turn in a paper.

Formatting

Format your paper according to your professor’s assignment prompt and syllabus. Many professors ask for specific fonts, page margins, line widths and headings to help them read and grade a large stack of papers. In general, the University of Chicago Writing Program suggests a standard, 12-point serif font, such as Times New Roman, double-spaced lines and page margins of no more than 1.25 inches.

Thesis Statement

Almost every college essay should include a thesis statement, which explains the general topic or purpose of the essay. A good thesis statement specifies the focus of the essay and outlines the paper’s organizational style. For example, a thesis statement for an argumentative essay would explain your position and the evidence that supports that position, while a thesis statement for a research paper would explain the subject of research and mention the methods or findings as discussed throughout the rest of the essay.

Body Paragraphs

Most of your college essay will consist of body paragraphs, which introduce and explain the evidence that supports your position or the different details you want to address within the general topic. The Purdue Online Writing Lab recommends exploring one idea per body paragraph in order to keep the essay clear and focused. Introduce the paragraph’s idea with a topic sentence, which also explains how the idea relates to the essay’s broader topic.

Citations

Unless your professor does not require them, include authoritative sources to support your claims. Reference these sources consistently using a citation style such as MLA or APA, depending on your professor’s preference. Proper citations build the authority and persuasiveness of your argument. You will also avoid potential claims of plagiarism by correctly attributing your sources. Most papers contain both in-text references, when quoting or referring to a source within a body paragraph, and either footnotes or a bibliography, which lists all the sources used in the paper.

Conclusion

An effective essay conclusion restates the thesis and ties together the preceding body paragraphs. In general, do not include new information in the concluding paragraph; instead, emphasize the importance of the essay’s content in the context of your thesis statement. In a research paper, a conclusion may address new questions or points for research based on the findings in the paper.

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About the Author

Chuck Lander holds a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing from American University. In addition to working at university writing centers and teaching writing skills in high school classrooms, he has written for blogs and publications such as the American University Writing Center and "Practicing Planner" since 2008.